Moths of North Carolina
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Anopina Members:
4 NC Records

Anopina ednana (Kearfott, 1907) - No Common Name

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: TortricinaeTribe: EuliniP3 Number: 620234.00 MONA Number: 3584.00
Comments: The genus Anopina contains around 65 described species, with most occurring in high-elevation forests in Mexico (Brown and Powell (2000). Nine species occur in the US and almost in the Southwest. Anopina ednana is the only species in the eastern US.
Species Status: Anopina ednana was described in 1907 from specimens collected in the Black Mountains in Buncombe County by William Beutenmuller, who made several expeditions to the area to collect moths and other insects. It was redisovered in 2019 near Mt. Mitchell and Big Bald after not being documented for over 100 years.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Kearfott (1907a)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is mostly based on the original description by Kearfott (1907). The antenna is golden brown, and the head and palps are yellowish-brown. The thorax is smooth with a flattened, dark-brown posterior tuft. The forewing ground color is yellowish gray and is stained or finely mottled with darker brown or ocherous scales. The ground is overlain with a dark reddish-brown to brownish-black basal patch that covers most or all of the basal fourth of the wing. A similar triangular to semi-oval patch is present at around one-half, with the apex extending inward to the middle of the wing. A smaller and sometimes poorly formed reddish brown patch is present at the apex. In some specimens this is replaced by a diffuse and somewhat sinuous band that extends from the subapical region of the costa to the tornus. The fringe is yellowish gray and is interrupted by a few fuscous scales, while the hindwing is dark gray with a slightly paler fringe. The legs are pale gray and annulated with dark brown.
Forewing Length: 13 to 14 mm (Kearfott, 1907)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae are known to feed on Gray Birch at northern latitudes, but details of the life history are undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Anopina ednana has northern affinities and has been found in much of southern Canada from British Columbia eastward to Prince Edward Island, and in the US from Maine southwestward through the Appalachian region to western Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina. As of 2022, all of our records are from high-elevation sites in the Blue Ridge.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: Adults have been documented from May through August in different areas of the range, with a seasonal peak typically in July. Local populations appear to be univoltine. As of 2022, our records are all from late-June to mid-July, which suggests a very brief flight season in North Carolina.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations in North Carolina are generally associated with high-elevation forests where Yellow Birch, Red Spruce, and Fraser Fir prevail.
Larval Host Plants: The only known host is Gray Birch (Betula populifolia) (Brown and Passoa, 1998; Brown and Powell, 2000). This species is not native to North Carolina, but has escaped in a few counties. Yellow Birch (B. alleghaniensis) is the likely host in North Carolina, but has not been documented as being a host as of 2024. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and can occasionally be seen during the day flying in woodland settings in northern hardwood or spruce-fir forests. They are slow fliers and often fly close to the ground and alight on twigs, herbaceous vegetation, and stumps (Kearfott, 1907).
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S1-S3]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This seemingly rare but locally abundant species was only recently rediscovered in North Carolina and is associated with spruce-fir or other high elevation forests. We need additional information on its host use, abundance, and distribution before we can accurately assess its conservation status.

 Photo Gallery for Anopina ednana - No common name

Photos: 3

Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2019-07-12
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2019-07-12
Yancey Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2019-07-12
Yancey Co.
Comment: